Marion Whaley is reminded of her teeth when she looks at the centre block tower at the former Woodlands school.

“I can tell you exactly where the dentist’s office was. It’s right in the back. That’s where they took out my teeth,” said Whaley, a former resident at Woodlands in New Westminster from the age of 12 to her early 20s.

Her teeth were removed, said the now 66-year-old, because staff at the school for children with developmental disabilities were worried Whaley would bite them.

Woodlands may have closed in 1996 but the bad memories live on for those who were physically, mentally and sexually abused by some staff while it was open.

Every time Whaley looks at the Centre Block tower—all that’s left after a huge fire last July destroyed the main building—she thinks of what happened to her and other children.

“The place is full of ghosts,” said Whaley, who now lives independently in Burnaby. “Too many things happened there. They should just tear it down or sooner or later the ghosts will start coming out.”

Whaley, along with many of the former residents and the groups that represent them want it torn down. Many still feel anxious when they see the building.

Ross Chilton with the Community Living Society knows of former residents who believe they’re going back to Woodlands if they catch sight of it.

Despite the wishes of former residents, the question of whether or not to demolish the centre block tower can only be answered by New Westminster council, which will debate the future of the building this summer.

A staff report, which has been tabled to a further date, recommends the building be retained because of its heritage value. It would form part of a new residential building.

It’s seen as historically important because the building and tower, built in 1878, was the province’s first lunatic asylum.

“The site’s heritage value is important for its ties with the city’s colonial history, its age, architectural style and construction,” states the report.

It also mentions the building was largely the work of notable architect George William Grant, who designed many of the city’s commercial buildings and houses—many of which are still standing.

The city report refers to the abuse as “allegations” and “alleged” since no Woodlands staff person has ever been convicted of abusing a resident.

However, a provincial administrative review of the province-run facility found widespread sexual, physical and emotional abuse of children at Woodlands, as well as unexpected and uninvestigated deaths.

The city report acknowledges the building has negative associations but gives examples of some buildings around the world retained because of those negative connotations, like the A-Bomb Dome in Hiroshima.

Woodlands’ bad memories aren’t just about abuse and mistreatment. It also represents previous views of care for children with developmental disabilities, said Chilton and Faith Bodnar with BC Association for Community Living.

Institutions like Woodlands were considered the best place for the mentally and physically disabled to live, said Chilton.

“This building is a testament to what’s wrong with institutionalization,” said Bodnar.

“But this was never a progressive institution in its day.”

Jackie Maniago was one of those parents who was told Woodlands was the best place for her son Norman, who is unable to speak or walk.

She remembers Woodlands staff telling her Norman wouldn’t last more than five days outside the school.

“The perception was he needed to be cared for in a medical way,” she said. “But he never had any medical problems.”

Her son, who now lives in Burnaby, “lives an ordinary life, in an ordinary home on an ordinary street,” graduated from high school and has a part-time job.

Perceptions have changed and today those with disabilities are integrated into communities.

Institutions like Woodlands no longer have a place in society, said Bodnar.

And if New Westminster council won’t tear it down, at least make into a memorial to what went on there, she said.

That appears to also be up for political debate.

The city staff report states the building, which requires as much as $3 million in seismic upgrades, could include retail use in the future.

mmcquillan@newwestnewsleader.com